In Which Garrus Outs Himself As A Romantic
by Sereneffect
Summary: After Garrus and Shepard's successful first date and flirtatious tango, Shepard decides they need to do it again. And learn something she never knew about her favorite sniper. Oneshot.


**Yay for random ideas and inspiration! WHEEEEE! This was my writer's block cure, so hopefully you all enjoy it too! I was playing the Citadel DLC and decided there aren't enough adorable moments of Shepard and Garrus acting like a real couple. Fluff for everyone!**

**Greenyoda987 is the most fabulous person ever, and I'm super happy I can still surprise her and teach her new words =P**

* * *

"So Garrus…"

He looked up from the console in the Main Battery and turned just enough to catch a glimpse of the woman in the corner of his eye as she entered; he needn't have bothered—he recognized her voice—but after they'd found her clone… Well, it never hurt to be sure. And no one swaggered into… well, anywhere, like they owned it quite like Shepard.

"Yes, Shepard?"

She turned to lean back against the console beside him, crossing her arms loosely over her stomach. "I think our 'first date' went quite well." The sparkle in her eye told him there was more that she wasn't saying, but he knew she was waiting for him to ask for it.

"I thought so too. Nothing dazzles the ladies like knowing your way around the dance floor."

He could see her grin widen despite her best efforts to resist. "Oh, I'm definitely dazzled," she purred, leaning so her hip rested against his wrist as he worked. "And I think we should definitely consider the idea of making it a regular event."

Now he laughed. "Shepard, I ran out of banter before we even got to the dazzling part. I don't think I can come up with enough witticisms to sustain a regular date night." He turned to face her as she rolled her eyes and ran one hand down her arm. "But that doesn't mean I'm not willing to try."

"I was thinking," she said, turning and absently tracing the edges of his armor with her fingertips, "that it would be a good opportunity to get some time to ourselves. Just us. Alone. In my apartment, with no one to disturb us."

"I like where this is going… If it's going where I think it's going. It is, right?"

She gave a dramatic sigh and shook her head, but her smile never wavered. "I'm sure we could do that… But I thought maybe we could just relax, spend some time together."

"You mean… Like normal dating. Like your average person's Friday night." It wasn't as though he had never been on dates before, it just seemed… out of place. They lived on a warship, they were in the middle of a war that depended very heavily on Shepard. Having a date night seemed… minor by comparison.

"Yeah. Would you want to?" she asked, tilting her head as she spoke. She batted her eyes twice and he made a show of trying to look away. They both knew he didn't mean it; she knew exactly what that look did to him, not that he'd ever refuse her anything.

"Oh, I guess. But what brought this on?"

She looked away and absently twirled a lock of hair between her fingers. "Oh, I, uh… Well, I was meeting Traynor at the Strip for lunch and… I kind of overheard—ok, it was probably more like eavesdropping—but I heard a turian talking to his girlfriend over the comm about their plans for the weekend and… Well, we never did that. I mean, we can't, really, but I want to. You know?"

He didn't but he nodded anyway. If she wanted a date night, whatever that meant, then he would gladly humor her. "What did you have in mind?"

Shepard glanced at her omnitool and huffed out a sigh; the work never ended. "I'm not sure; lemme think about it?" she replied as she moved toward the door, "We can go to my apartment and figure it out from there."

* * *

The Silversun Strip was bustling—as usual—as the couple wove between the people milling about, yet as they drew nearer and nearer to their destination, the crowds thinned; the Arena and Casino were the main attractions, not the residential towers. Garrus glanced down at the woman by his side again and casually slung an arm around her shoulders.

"So, what's the plan?" he finally asked.

He felt rather than saw her shrug. "I dunno, I thought we could order take out, just spend some time together and relax. Maybe try out that hot tub." He could see her smile as she continued. "Or maybe watch a vid?"

"Dinner and a vid, huh?" he mused, keying in the entry to the building before stepping aside with a sweep of his arm for her to enter. That made her chuckle. "Like _Fleet and Flotilla_? I know you girls like those romantic movies."

Shepard raised a brow as she went to unlock the apartment, fixing him briefly with a quizzical glance. "Like what now?" she asked as they stepped inside, but Garrus balked in the doorway and Shepard had continued a few more steps before realizing he wasn't with her. She turned, about to ask what was wrong, but stopped herself when she saw his shocked expression.

"You haven't… You've never seen it?" His mandibles were slack and Shepard contemplated snapping a photo—for posterity—but thought better of it.

"No…?"

"But it's a classic! You have to have seen it!"

Shepard settled her weight into her cocked hip and crossed her arms. "Well, I haven't. But clearly you have." There was an amused quirk of her mouth as she said it and he mumbled something as he looked vaguely toward the windows.

"I… may have seen it once or twice…" he finally replied, absently scratching the back of his neck. Ah, he was adorable when he was flustered; Shepard smirked.

"Uh huh."

"Well, you have to see it. It can be our date night," he recovered, striding past her with a grin. For a moment, Shepard just watched him scrolling through the vids on his omnitool before laughing.

"I'll make popcorn."

* * *

Shepard would give this to the actors, at least they were passionate. Other than that, she couldn't tell if it was supposed to be serious or hilarious. The turian actor launched into another gallant line, complete with overdramatic gestures and Shepard bit her lip to stop herself from scoffing. Classic or no, it was all a little over done, and—

The two leads turned toward each other, exchanging their—in Shepard's mind—sappy lines with such overacted emotion that Shepard finally had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Garrus gave her a pointed look and nodded toward the screen; apparently, she was supposed to keep watching. For a moment, though, she merely watched him from her place sprawled between his knees; he was really invested in it, if his expression was anything to go by. His hand on her hip was tracing absent circles, but his attention was entirely consumed by the vid. That made her smile, and she snuggled back against his chest to let it play out. _At least it has good music…_

As the screen finally faded to black and the credits began to roll over the movie's main theme again, Shepard let out a low chuckle and carefully extricated herself from Garrus's arms. He regarded her curiously as she grinned.

"What?" he asked as she turned to study him.

"It's very… extravagant," she finally said, careful to choose her words. Painfully overdone would have been her preference, but it was something he clearly enjoyed.

"Yeah, well…"

"But I did learn something about you," she interrupted, snatching his visor from his head before he could stop her. Garrus huffed out a breath and watched her fiddle with it as the vid ended.

"Oh?" He sounded a bit more defensive than he would have liked, but her attention was fixated on his visor and she didn't seem to hear.

"Yes, Mr. Romantic." Music began to play from the device and she grinned triumphantly; it wasn't just the theme from the vid, but a live orchestral performance. "I knew it!" When he went to move away, embarrassment painting his face, she wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Relax, I think it's cute."

"Yeah, well… it's a good story," he grumbled, settling his own arms around her waist.

For a moment, neither moved, and when Shepard spoke again, her tone was more serious. "I can see why you like it. You're not so different from Ballicus, you know?"

Garrus chuckled and set his chin on top her head. "How do you figure?"

Shepard snuggled closer, her cheek set against his cowl. "I know deep down you care about your people, but I also know there are things that are more important. And for all the preaching of duty and honor, you think like him. And I like to think that what we have would be worth turning your back on the fleet."

"You are," he replied, a low purr rumbling from his chest. She smiled against his chest and traced the edges of his gauntlets. "When did you become so astute?"

Shepard scoffed and pushed back from him. "Oh, come off it," she grumbled, but he pulled her back into his embrace and she happily curled up in his lap again. "Sometimes it's good to have the reminder that there's more out there than war and duty…" she mused sadly, a rueful smile pulling at her lip. A sad trill escaped him and he bumped his forehead against hers in what he hope was a reassuring way.

"A lot more… But it always comes back," he agreed reluctantly.

Shepard nodded. "But not tonight," she added with a smile, "Tonight, I'm as free as the dust in the solar wind."

* * *

**Mush everywhere! FEELINGS! Lemme know!**


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